The welterweight division gets the spotlight at UFC 209 on Saturday, March 4, as Tyron Woodley takes on Stephen Thompson. It is a rematch of a great fight that ended in a draw at UFC 205 in November. Woodley is the current UFC champion and ranked first in the latest MMA power rankings in the welterweight division, while Thompson is ranked second. The division could also get a huge boost if Georges St-Pierre decides his next fight will be at welterweight. Let’s take a look at the latest welterweight MMA power rankings and the odds for Woodley vs. Thompson.
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Welterweight MMA Rankings
- 1. Tyron Woodley – The current champion is listed as the underdog again in his fight against Thompson but it should come as a huge surprise since Woodley continues to get no respect. Woodley has not been favored in a fight since 2013, as this will be the seventh fight in a row where he is listed as the dog. He is 16-3-1 in his career.
- 2. Stephen Thompson – The challenger is 13-1-1 in his career. He is listed as the -130 favorite against Woodley in UFC 209 odds at BookMaker.eu. Thompson said he wasn’t at his best in the first fight against Woodley. “It fuels me to know that I wasn’t at my best against a Tyron Woodley, who was certainly at his best” Thompson said. “He threw all his best shots at me and had that deep guillotine choke on me and he still couldn’t finish me off.”
- 3. Robbie Lawler – He is 27-11 in his career but he lost to Woodley last July at UFC 201. It is hard to see him getting a rematch anytime soon.
- 4. Demian Maia – You can make a case that Maia is actually getting better as he gets older. Rarely do fighters improve in their 30’s but Maia has looked really good lately and he could be in line for another title shot. He has won his last six fights and when he gets opposing fighters to the mat it is over.
- 5. Rory MacDonald – He couldn’t beat Lawler in 2015 and then he was dominated by Thompson last year. He signed with Bellator in August of last year and will fight next at Bellator 179 against Paul Daley.
- 6. Ben Askren – He is unbeaten at 15-0 but how much credit he deserves for beating marginal fighters is in question. He has only fought twice in the last two years.
- 7. Lorenz Larkin – He has won four of five in the welterweight division including wins over Magny and Jorge Masvidal.
- 8. Jorge Madvidal – He is 32-11 in his career but he has won his last three fights including a great knockout of Donald Cerrone in January.
- 9. Neil Magny – He is 11-2 in his last 13 fights with some quality wins against fighters like Hendricks and Kelvin Gastelum.
- 10. Carlos Condit – He looks to be on the way down with losses in three of his last four fights.
Other fighters worth keeping an eye on include Douglas Lima who is the current Bellator champion and Andrey Koreshov who will be taking on Fernando Gonzalez at Bellator 174.
GSP
St-Pierre is making his return and if he comes back at welterweight then he vaults right to the top of these rankings. There has never been a better welterweight than GSP and he could face Woodley in his return if Woodley wins the fight against Thompson. If it is Thompson who takes the title, then St-Pierre might end up in another weight class as GSP has said he does not want to fight Thompson as the two are friends.
UFC president Dana White said that GSP could move to middleweight or to lightweight if he doesn’t return to welterweight. “It could be the winner (of the March 4 welterweight title fight) between Tyron Woodley and Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson, or it could be (middleweight champion) Michael Bisping,” White said, “Georges has also talked about fighting at 155 pounds (lightweight). He says he can make the weight.”
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